Thomex.com

A two-day summit on 'Processed Food Advantage India 2008' kick-started here in the Capital on Thursday. The summit, organised by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and supported by Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India, was attended by large number of national and international business delegates.
 
The International buyer-seller meet had some 31 foreign delegates from various food processing industries from countries like Australia, UAE, France, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, Muscat, Oman, Singapore, UAE and USA. The conference turned out to be a major attraction for Indian processed food manufacturers looking for emerging export markets.
 
The conference also offered manufacturers, suppliers and end-users a platform to share and exchange their experiences on the emerging opportunities. The summit helped in creating awareness among large number of service providers related to the industries. But above all, it provided a networking opportunity to Indian manufacturers to interact with potential international buyers and importers.
 
Stressing that role of food processing industries, Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister of State for Food Processing Industry said, "It presents a huge growth opportunity for the country. The sector has witnessed a massive reduction in taxes during the last four years resulting in only 5 per cent from the earlier 40 per cent. There are various incentives available for new ventures like income-tax rebate for the initial five years."
 
Highlighting the potential of the sector, the Minister said it could provide income generation opportunities to 70 per cent of the country’s population, either directly or indirectly. "Today, the sector contributes 9 per cent of the GDP and there is tremendous scope to increase it further," he said.
 
The Food Processing industry is currently growing at 13.5 per cent as against 6.5 per cent in 2003-04 and the market-driven farming would provide farmers with more bargaining capacity leading to their economic stability.
 
Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, CII National Committee on Food Processing said that the Processed Food Industry is a muscular dwarf, which has the capacity to do for rural India what IT has done for the urban India.
 
MK Jalan, member CII National Committee on Food Processing and CMD, Keventer, lauded government’s early steps in policy change. He said the initiative helped in integrating the rural markets with the global chain which actually facilitated the growth of Food Processing industry.
 
Speaking on the evolving scenario in Processed Foods, S Dave, Director, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Vice Chairman Codex Alimentarius Committee said the export of processed food from India has shown a growth of 40-45% in recent times. He emphasised that the export market has assumed new dimension with food safety becoming a major concern among the developed nations.
 
Andreas W Bauer, Consumer Goods and Retail Roland Berger Strategy Consultant, said that there was an immediate need to build a powerful international sourcing in the processed food sector. He said that global sourcing has tangible benefits for retailers like it enables differentiation, increases gross margin, leads to assortment cost and boosts professionalism. He informed the audience that European retailers have already implemented the international sourcing structure.
 
The others who spoke on the occasion included Ravi Nigam, Managing Director Tasty Bite Eatables, Marc E Kalton, Managing Partner EDICA, LLC and others.
 
The Summit also witnessed number of Indian manufacturers putting up their stalls to showcase their products to foreign delegates. Vinod K Taneja of Britannia said that the response from delegates were very good. "We are showing our premium products which can find wider acceptance in other countries. The export of Indian processed food is growing and we are looking forward to expand our business," Taneja said.
 
Ashish Pokhariyal of Amul said, "We have been receiving a good number of buyers from other countries, especially from Dubai, Japan and other countries. As our products are produced for the masses and are of good quality, lot of foreign delegates are showing keen interest. Moreover, we are the only company which makes sugarless ice-cream which has raised people's curiosity."
 
Sumit Gupta of Chaska Tea who was participating for the first time in a show organised by the CII said he received a good number of visitors. "One of the USP of the show was foreign delegates who offered good opportunities for trade. We are sure it will lead to good leads," Gupta said.